Ironing machine



C. A. PICKENS IRONING MACHINE Dec. 31, 1935.

Filed April 12, 1955 .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Dec. 31, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved ironing machine of the type in which an ironing board is supported in front of a pedestal or standard and an iron mounted for movement over the ironing board in pressing engagement with a ,to the iron and the iron readily shifted along the board without excessive effort upon the part of the operator even when heavy pressure is applied.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the ironing board that it-may be shifted toward or away from the pedestal and also have pivotal movement imparted to it and thus allow the iron to have desired reciprocating movement relative to the board and an. article to be ironed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will be very strong, will remain in an upright position with out danger of tilting over, and may be very easily operated.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a view showing the improved ironing board in front elevation.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the mechanism for controlling movements of the iron.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the improved machine.

Figure 4 is a top plan view with end portions of the board broken away.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken vertically through the machine along the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a section taken vertically through the machine along the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of the hydraulic mechanism for controlling movements of the iron.

This improved ironing machine has a pedestal or casing l which extends vertically and has an enlarged base 2 which supports the pedestal in an upright position and eliminates any danger of the pedestal tipping over. The upper portion 3 of the pedestal is enlarged transversely as shown in Figure 1 and at its front carries a bracket 4 formed with a socket 5 in its upper end. The ironing board 6 is disposed over the bracket 4 and has its under face formed with a transversely extending groove 1 covered by a metal plate 8 in which is formed a slot 9 which registers with the groove 1. A shelf I8 is dis- 5 posed under the ironing board and carries a depending shank II which is rotatably received in the socket 5. This shank has a threaded bore to receive a bolt l2, the head of which is disposed in the groove 1, and close to its head, 10 the bolt is formed with an enlarged portion which bears against the upper face of the shelf and serves as a spacer to prevent the head of the bolt from having binding engagement with the plate 8. It will thus be seen that the ironing board may be shifted longitudinally of the slot 9 and groove 1 toward and away from the pedestal and may also be turned from a position from which it extends substantially parallel to the pedestal, as shown in Figure 4, to a position diagonally thereof If the ironing board is short enough it may be turned to a position in which it will extend forwardly from the pedestal instead of transversely thereof.

- The iron l3 which is provided with a handle I4 is pivoted to a supporting arm I5 formed from a strip of resilient metal which extends over the upper end of the standard and has its rear portion l6 bent downwardly and passed downwardly into the standard through an opening l1 formed at the upper end thereof. At its inner end, the arm or bar I5 is secured to a slide I8 having a dove-tailed portion l9 received in an under out seat 20 formed in a block 2| which is slidably mounted upon a bar 22 extending transversely in the upper portion of the standard and having its ends mounted in supports 23 at sides of the standard. An arm 24 extends rearwardly from the lower end of the slide I 8 and to this arm is pivoted a link 25 which extends downwardly and is pivoted to the arm 26 of a block 21 carried by and slidable upon a bar 28 which also extends transversely in the standard or pedestal and at its ends is formed with trunnions engaged in the supports 23to pivotally mount the bar. By this arrangement the bar and block 21 may be rocked to impart vertical shifting movement to the slide l8 and efiect movement of the iron l3 toward and away from the ironing board and by shifting the blocks 21 and 2| along the bars, the iron maybe slid longitudinally of the ironing board.

The iron is to be raised and lowered and shifted longitudinally of the board by hydraulic means in order that light or very heavy pressure may be applied by the iron and the iron reciprocated longitudinally of the board without excessive eifort upon the part of the operator. In order to accomplish these movements through hydraulic means, there has been provided a pair of cylinders 25 and 38 which are formed as a casting, as shown in Figure 7, and are mounted upon the bottom of the pedestal in an upright position. Between the cylinders is. disposed a pump 3! which is driven by an electric motor 32 and from this pump extends a pipe 33 having a cross head 3d connected with the castings of valves 35 and 36. Pipes 3! and 38 connect the valves with upper ends of the cylinders 29 and MB and other pipes 3% and 4! connect the valves with lower ends of the cylinders. Rotary valve blocks 4! and 62 are mounted in the casings of the valves and are formed with arcuate passages 53, id, 65 and 46 and it will be readily seen that by properly adjusting the valve blocks, flow of oil from the pipe 31 to the cylinders may be controlled and pistons 4'! and 4.8 in the cylinders caused to move either upwardly or downwardly. The piston rods 49 and 5E! extend upwardly from the cylinders and by referring to Figure 5 it will be seen that the upper end of the piston rod 49 is pivoted to a link 5! having its upper end pivoted to a crank arm 52 carried by the rocker bar 28' so that when the piston 'i is moved in its cylinder the rocker bar 28 will. be turned in the supports 23 and the slide 5% moved to raise or lower the iron according to the direction in which the piston moves. The upper end of the piston rod 50 is engaged in a slot 53 formed in an arm 55 extending transversely from the lower end of a lever 55 which is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 56 rising from the casting between the cylinders 29 and 33 and at its upper end the lever is formed with a head 5'5 having a longitudinally extending slot 58 formed therein to receive the roller 59 carried' by a stud E38 which projects forwardly from the block 25. The lever 55 will be swung about its pivot longitudinally of the bars 22 and 28 when the piston 48 is moved in its cylinder and as the blocks 22 and 21 are both free to slide upon the bars, the arm l5 may move in the slot I! of the pedestal and cause the iron to slidelongitudinally of the ironing board. It will thus be seen that the iron may be moved to a lowered position in which it will have pressing engagement with a garment or other article placed upon the board and then caused to reciprocate longitudinally of the board for pressing the article without the operator exerting physical strength to move the iron and thick goodsmay, therefore, be very well' pressed. All the operator has to do is to grasp the handle I l. and guide the iron. The iron. is not only pivoted to the arm 15 but has a swiveled connection with the bracket l6 which is pivoted to the arm l5 and, therefore, the iron may be properly guided.

In order to adjust the sections there has been provided a foot pedal or treadle 62 which is pivoted to a plunger 63 slidably mounted in a cup 65 and, resting upon a spring 65 which yieldably holds the plunger in an elevated position. A rocker bar 68, which is pivoted to a fulcrum 61 in the base of the pedestal, extends through a slot S8 formed in the front portion of the pedestal and has its inner end engaged with the crank arm 69 of the valve 35 and its outer end connected with the pinion l0 which pivotally connects the treadle with the plunger. Therefore, when pressure is applied to the treadle to depress the plunger, the rocker bar Bil will be moved to swing its inner end upwardly and adjust the valve block 22 to cause the piston to be moved upwardly to rock the bar 28 and shift the slide it downwardly so that the iron will exert the desired pressure upon an article placed upon the ironing board. The fact that the arm 55 is resilient permits it to have sufficient give when the iron is in an operative position. When pressure upon the pedestal is relieved and the plunger allowed to be moved upwardly by the spring 55, a reverse motion will be imparted to the piston l? and the iron will be raised. A rod or bar H, which is fixed to the treadle, extends into the base of the pedestal and at its inner end is pivoted to a link i2 which extends upwardly therefrom and is connected to the crank arm l3 of the valve 35. After the plunger has been forced downwardly to effect lowering of the iron, the treadle may be swung forwardly to lower the forward end of the rod or bar ll and. the valve 35 will be adjusted to effect movement of the iron longitudinally of the board toward one end thereof. Rearward tilting of the treadle will cause the valve to be adjusted to efiect shifting of the iron toward the other end of the ironing board. It will thus be seen that by tilting the treadle first forwardly and then rearwardly, the iron may be caused to reciprocate longitudinally of the board. By properly regulating tilting movement of the treadle, either short or long strokes may be imparted to the iron.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In an ironing machine, a standard, an ironing board in front of said standard, tracks in the standard, one track being tiltable about its longitudinal axis and the other stationary, blocks slidable along said tracks, a carrier slidably connected with the block on the stationary track for vertical movement, arms projecting from the carrier and the block or the tiltable track, a link extending between and pivoted to said arms, an iron carrying bar extending horizontally over the ironing board and upper end of the standard and having its rear end portion bent downwardly and extending through a slot in the top of the standard and fixed to said carrier, means for tilting the block carried by the tiltable track and shifting the carrier to move the bar and iron toward and away from the ironing board, and means for shifting the blocks along said tracks and imparting sliding movement to the iron.

2. In an ironing machine, a standard having a transverse slot in its upper end, an ironing board mounted in front of the standard and extending longitudinally of the slot, upper and lower tracks extending transversely in the upper portion of said standard longitudinally of the slot, the lower track being tiltable about a longitudinal axis, a block slidable along each track,

the lower block having an arm extending transversely of its track, a shoe slidably connected with the upper block for vertical movement and having an arm projecting therefrom over the arm of the lower block, a link connecting said arms for imparting vertical movement to the shoe when the lower block and track are tilted, a resilient bar extending horizontally over the standard and ironing board with its rear end portion bent downwardly through the slot and fixed to said shoe, an iron carried by the front 75.-

end of said bar and moved toward and away from the ironing board when the shoe and arm are shifted vertically, hydraulically operated means for tilting the lower block and track, hydraulically operated means for shifting the blocks along the tracks, a control valve for each hydraulic means, and means for individually adjusting said valves.

3. In an ironing machine, a. standard having a transverse slot at its upper end, an ironing board in front of the standard, upper and lower transverse tracks in the upper portion of the standard parallel to the slot and each other, the lower track being tiltable about its longitudinal axis, blocks slidable upon said tracks, a shoe carried by the upper block and slidable vertically, a resilient bar over the standard and ironing board having a depending rear portion extending through the slot and fixed to the shoe whereby an iron carried by the front end of the bar may be shifted vertically toward and away from the ironing board when the shoe is slid connected with the shoe and lower block for sliding the shoe when the lower block and track are tilted, and hydraulic means for tilting the lower block and its track and imparting sliding movement to the blocks and arm whereby the iron will be slid along the ironing board.

4. In an ironing machine, a standard having a transverse slot at its upper end, an ironing board in front of the standard, upper and lower transverse tracks in the upper portion of the standard parallel to the slot and each other, the lower track being tiltable about its longitudinal axis, blocks slidable upon said tracks, a shoe carried by the upper block and slidable vertically, a resilient bar over the standard and ironing board having a depending rear portion extending through the slot and fixed to the shoe whereby an iron carried by the front end of the bar may be shifted vertically toward and away from the ironing board when the shoe is slid vertically, a link extending between and pivotally connected with the shoe and lower block for sliding the shoe when the lower block and track are tilted, an arm extending transversely from the lower track, a stud projecting from the upper block, a link pivoted to the arm of the lower track and depending therefrom, a lever extending vertically in said standard and pivotally mounted at its lower end, a slot being provided in the upper portion of said lever and receiving said stud to impart sliding movement to the blocks and iron carrying arm when the lever is rocked, a side extension at the lower end of said lever, hydraulic means for moving said lever connected with the side extension thereof, hydraulic means connected with said link for shifting the link vertically and tilting the lower track and its block to impart sliding movement to said shoe, a control valve for each hydraulic means, and means for individually adjusting said valves.

5. In an ironing machine, a standard having a transverse slot at its upper end, an ironing board in front of the standard, upper and lower transverse tracks in the upper portion of the standard parallel to the slot and each other, the lower track being tiltable about its longitudinal axis, blocks slidable upon said tracks, a shoe carried by the upper block and slidable vertically, a resilient bar over the standard and ironing board having a depending rear portion extending through the slot and fixed to the shoe whereby an iron carried by the front end of the bar may be shifted vertically toward and away from the ironing board when the shoe is slid vertically, a link extending between and pivotally connected with the shoe and lower block for sliding the shoe when the lower block and track 5 are tilted, an arm extending transversely from the lower track, a stud projecting from the upper block, a link pivoted to the arm of the lower track and depending therefrom, a lever extending vertically in said standard and piv- 10 otally ,mounted at its lower end, a slot being provided in the upper portion of said lever and receiving said stud to impart sliding movement to the blocks and iron carrying arm when the lever is rocked, a side extension at the lower 15 end of said lever, hydraulic means for moving said lever connected with the side extension thereof, hydraulic means connected with said link for shifting the link vertically and tilting the lower track and its block to impart sliding 20 movement to said shoe, and means for individually controlling operation of the hydraulic means having a manually operated actuating element common to both of the hydraulic means.

6, In an ironing machine, a standard having 25 a transverse slot at its upper end, an ironing board in front of the standard, upper and lower transverse tracks in the upper portion of the standard parallel to the slot and each other, the lower track being tiltable about its longi- 30 tudinal axis, blocks slidable upon said tracks, a shoe carried by the upper block and slidable vertically, a resilient bar over the standard and ironing board having a depending rear portion extending through the slot and fixed to the shoe 35 whereby an iron carried by the front end of the bar may be shifted vertically toward and away from the ironing board'when the shoe is slid vertically, a link extending between and pivotally connected with the shoe and lower block 40 for sliding the shoe when the lower block and track are tilted, an arm extending transversely from the lower track, a stud projecting from the upper block, a link pivoted to the arm of the lower track and depending therefrom, a lever 4,5 extending vertically in said standard and pivotally mounted at its lower end, a slot being provided in the upper portion of said lever and receiving said stud to impart sliding movement to the blocks and iron carrying arm when the 50 lever is rocked, a side extension at the lower end of said lever, cylinders mounted vertically in the lower portion of said standard, pistons for the cylinders having upwardly extending stems connected to the lower end of said link and the 55 side extension of said lever, a valve associated with each cylinder for controlling movement of the piston thereof, a pump for delivering liquid to the valves, and means for individually adjusting the valves. 0 '7. In an ironing machine, a standard having a transverse slot at its upper end, an ironing board in front of the standard, upper and lower transverse tracks in the upper portion of the standard parallel to the slot and each other, the 65 lower track being tiltable about its longitudinal axis, blocks slidable upon said tracks, a shoe carried by the upper block and slidable vertically, a risilient bar over the standard and ironing board having a depending rear portion extend- 70 ing through the slot and fixed to the shoe whereby an iron carried by the front end of the bar may be shifted vertically toward and away from the ironing board when the shoe is slid vertically, a link extending between and pivotally connected 76 mounted vertically in the lower portion of said standard, pistons forthe. cylinders having up.- wardly extending stems connected to the lower end of said link and the side extensionof said lever, valves between the cylinders each having a casing and pipes leading therefrom to opposite end portions of a cylinder, a valve block in each casing for; controlling flow of, liquid through the pipes thereof and controlling directional move-- ment of the piston, a pump for delivering liquid under pressure to said valves, and means for individually adjusting the valves.

8. In an ironing machine, a standard having a transverse slot at its upper end, an ironing board in front of the standard, upper and lower transverse tracks in the upper portion of the standard parallel to the slot and each other, the lower track being tiltable about its longitudinal axis, blocks slidable upon said tracks, a, shoe carried by the upper block and slidable vertically, a resilient bar over the standard and ironing board having a depending rear portion extending through the slot and fixed to the shoe whereby an iron carried by the front, end of the bar may be shifted vertically toward and away from the ironing board when the shoe is-slid vertically, a link extending between and pivotally connected with the shoe! and lower block for sliding the shoe when the lower block and track arev tilted,

with the shoe and lower block for slidingthe anarm extending transversely from the lower track, a stud projecting from the upper block,

a link, pivoted to the, arm of the lower track and depending, therefrom, a lever extending vertically in said standard and pivotally mounted at its lower end, a slot being provided in the upperportion, of said lever and receiving said stud to impart sliding movement to the blocks and iron carrying arm when the lever is rocked, a side extension at the lower end of said lever, cylinders mounted vertically in the lower portion of said standard, pistons for the cylinders having; upwardly extending stems connected to the lower end of said link and the side extension of said lever, valves between the cylinders each having a, casing and pipes leading therefrom to opposite. end. portions of a cylinder, a valve block ineach casing for controlling flow of liquid throughthe pipes thereof and controlling directionalmovement of. the piston, a pump for delivering liquid under pressure to said valves, a turning handle for the block of each valve, and means for. adjusting the valves consisting of a plunger slidable vertically and yieldably held in a raised position, a treadle pivoted to the-upper end of said plunger, a rod. pivotally mounted in saidstandard and extending substantially horizontally and pivotally mounted intermediate its length with one end portion projecting from the standard. and pivoted to the upper end of the plunger, the inner end of the rod being engaged with the handle of one valve block foradjusting the valve when the plunger is moved vertically, a stem pivoted to and depending from the handle of the other valve, and a rod fixed to said pedal and extending into the standard and pivoted to the stem of the valve handle for adjusting the valve when the treadle is rocked upon the plunger.

CLAUDE A. PICKENS. 

